The St. Boniface Hospital School of Nursing, combining residential and educational functions, symbolizes the growth and recognition of nursing as a profession. One of the finest remaining examples in Western Canada, the nurses’ residence provided student nurses with comfortable living and recreational space while they trained in the hospital.
Constructed between 1927 and 1928, this five-storey, L-shaped brick and reinforced concrete building on Taché Avenue, measuring 120 feet by 140 feet, was designed by local architcts Walter Percy Over and Ewart Fitz Munn, and built between mid-1927 and early 1928 by contractor Joseph Lorenzo Guay at a cost of about $275,000.
It was opened officially on 29 February 1928 at a ceremony attended by Lieutenant Governor Theodore Arthur Burrows, Archbishop Arthur Beliveau, Minister of Public Welfare Edward William Montgomery, Judge James Emile Pierre Prendergast, Father R. P. Bourque, and physicians A. P. McKinnon, Gordon Samuel Fahrni, James Douglas Adamson, and Edmund James Boardman.
In the school’s modern classrooms, laboratory and library facilities, young women received a scientific education. As elsewhere in Canada, the St. Boniface school and residence helped nurses gain a modern professional education. A plaque on the front grounds was unveiled in 2002 by the Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada.
Postcard view of St. Boniface Hospital School of Nursing (no date)
Source: Rick Brown, 2013-0040
Postcard view of St. Boniface Hospital School of Nursing (no date)
Source: Rob McInnes
St. Boniface School of Nursing Building (June 2017)
Source: George Penner
St. Boniface School of Nursing Building (June 2023)
Source: Jordan MakichukSite Coordinates (lat/long): N49.88578, W97.12406
denoted by symbol on the map above
See also:
Memorable Manitobans: Walter Percy Over (1874-1944)
Memorable Manitobans: Ewart Fitz Munn (1885-1968)
Memorable Manitobans: Joseph Lorenzo Guay (1890-1962)
Historic Sites of Manitoba: St. Boniface General Hospital (409 avenue Taché, Winnipeg)
Historic Sites of Manitoba: Manitoba Plaques for Persons, Events and Sites of National Historic Significance
“Postpone nurses’ home contract until Wednesday, May 4,” Manitoba Free Press, 30 April 1927, page 24.
“News of the day,” Manitoba Free Press, 6 May 1927, page 1.
“Contract is awarded for new nurses’ home,” Manitoba Free Press, 6 May 1927, page 21.
“St. Boniface School of Nursing opens Wednesday,” Winnipeg Tribune, 28 February 1928, page 9.
“St. Boniface Hospital boasts 50-year record,” Winnipeg Tribune, 1 March 1928, page 6.
Biographical Dictionary of Architects in Canada, 1800-1950 by Robert G. Hill, Toronto.
Information for this page was provided by The City of Winnipeg’s Planning, Property and Development Department, which acknowledges the contribution of the Government of Manitoba through its Heritage Grants Program.
We thank Rick Brown, George Penner, and Glen Toews for providing additional information used here.
This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough and Jordan Makichuk.
Page revised: 10 February 2024
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